Leeds has ranked in the top six UK cities most likely to attract funding from institutional investors in 2023, according to new research from Brabners.
In the law firm’s study of more than 400 UK and US-based institutional investors, Leeds ranked joint-sixth alongside Liverpool.
Manchester ranked as the number one city for investment in 2023, ahead of London in second. Cardiff completed the top three of the inaugural Brabners Northern Investment Index report.
Brabners compared the intentions of institutional investors with existing interest in the UK and what they mean for the future of businesses in North England.
Notably, half of investors (50%) intended to increase their investment in the region in 2023, with similar numbers (52%) having already done so in 2022.
Buoyed by the pound’s recent relative weakness against the dollar, investors based in the US (55%) were more likely to increase their funding into the UK this year compared to their British counterparts (47%).
Despite recent findings of the IPPR North think tank that showed the north receives some of the lowest levels of investment among the world’s advanced economies, more than half (54%) of the investment managers surveyed had a positive view of the region as a place for business growth.
Again, US views were more positive (59%) than domestic ones (51%), while just one in 10 (13%) respondents considered conditions for investment and growth in the north as poor.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Marcus Armstrong, head of corporate (Leeds) at Brabners, said: “There remains a significant amount of international interest in the UK, as the market represents increasingly good value for overseas investors.”
Armstrong continued: “Where that investment has traditionally largely focused on London, we can now also see a shift towards the regions, as UK-wide assets represent good value, supporting a more balanced spread of interest across the country—creating significant opportunities this year for businesses based in devolved city regions like Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.”
Robert White, chief executive officer at Brabners, added: “While the North is primed to kick-start wider economic growth through its well-documented strengths, not only in emerging sustainable and R&D-led industries, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the wider picture.
“The data developed for our Northern Investment Index is private sector-oriented and, though it points to increased funding for businesses in the north, it does not focus on the support the region needs to ‘level up’ in other ways.
“Devolution and cross-city collaboration are powerful tools and ones that we, as a firm that is anchored across the north, welcome and continue to support.
“While we, as businesses, may not be able to directly address challenges such as transport infrastructure, we can play our part in contributing to other long-standing issues, like professional education and social mobility, which have the potential to significantly enhance productivity, while also building a more innovative, diverse and sustainable future.
“Speaking on behalf of a business that believes in bringing about positive change, it is clear that the investment highlighted in this report provides a major opportunity to do so. Our responsibility as business leaders is to harness that investment and to make sure that it does.”
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, commented: “The case for investment in the Northern Powerhouse has never been stronger.
“By handing further powers to our metro mayors including over tax—so-called fiscal devolution —we can leverage more public and private investment.
“Aligning capital, including into vital funds, would help to unleash opportunities in the north’s innovation districts, such as in health and life sciences.”
Image source: Canva
